Chapter 84
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 84
Meanwhile, four hours before Reina met Lee Dong-wook.
Cheon Seo-yoon, who had spent the whole morning burning with fighting spirit and hunting down two Grade 7 Monsters and eight Grade 8 Monsters, was lying under a large zelkova tree, having a late lunch.
The menu was, of course, a calorie bar.
This time she chewed it slowly while imagining a spicy sundae soup, but the miracle she had experienced that morning did not happen.
Smell, my ass.
All that remained was a dry, choking aftertaste.
"Tastes like shit."
Cheon Seo-yoon, who had wet her throat with bottled water, clutched her still-hungry stomach and flopped onto her back.
Above her, white clouds drifted across the blue sky.
They looked just like chicken legs, and she stared at them as if entranced.
That one's pizza. That one's lamb chops. And a drone.......
Looks delicious.... A drone?
Cheon Seo-yoon, who had been grinning vacantly, suddenly glared up with a face full of irritation.
"That damn......."
Professor Lee Taek-jin.
She couldn't bring herself to finish the thought aloud, afraid the thing might have voice recognition, but it was true that her grievances had piled up considerably.
The seed she'd lost to Reina, for one.
They could have just held the exam normally.
What was so grand that he had to push them to this point to evaluate it?
At the very least, if he had given them some advance warning.
Or if not that, at least the bare necessities. If only he had guaranteed an environment where people could be evaluated like people.......
She wouldn't have been this angry.
Cheon Seo-yoon irritably clawed at her hair, then frowned again.
"Ugh...."
It was because she hadn't washed for two days, and her greasy hair made her fingers slick.
"Haah."
But soon her shoulders slumped and she gave up.
Lamenting wouldn't change anything.
She was just about to get up, telling herself that she'd be better off finding a stream and washing up than wasting time like this.
Rustle
A suspicious presence suddenly made itself felt.
Cheon Seo-yoon quickly grabbed her longsword.
If it was a Monster, she'd beat it down, and if it was someone from Taehak, she had to be on guard no matter who it was.
"Huh?"
But she soon realized there was no need.
The person who emerged through the underbrush was a female student from Class A who was rated the weakest, with zero combat ability.
Cheon Seo-yoon, whose eyes met the other girl's and made her flinch, spoke first with feigned familiarity.
"Park Young-ji. Right?"
"No, Min......."
"Ah, right. Park Young-min."
"No, I said my surname is Min."
"Ah, right. Min Young-ji."
Cheon Seo-yoon scratched the back of her neck awkwardly, then frowned again at her sticky skin.
This caused an unnecessary misunderstanding.
Min Young-ji, sensing something off, hesitated and stepped back.
Cheon Seo-yoon frantically waved her hands and called Min Young-ji to stop.
"W-wait, can't we just talk for a bit? You're the first person I've met in two days. Let's exchange some information."
"......."
An awkward atmosphere hung around them for a moment, but Cheon Seo-yoon paid it no mind and opened her mouth.
"Have you earned any points?"
"No. Not really......."
"How many calorie bars do you have left? I've been rationing mine, so I still have five."
"Really?"
Under the barrage of unguarded questions, Min Young-ji's wariness gradually dulled.
Thanks to that, the two talked for quite a long time, and in the course of it, Cheon Seo-yoon obtained a very important piece of information.
"Oh, and I think the command control room is in Sector E."
"Command control room?"
"Yeah, I found a big, nice-looking tent. Maybe because the professor stays there, the food smells are no joke at every mealtime."
"Wow. That's ridiculous. His students are busting their asses and he can still eat?"
Cheon Seo-yoon clicked her tongue loudly, then suddenly her eyes went round as a thought flashed through her mind.
"Can you tell me exactly where that is?"
"Ah, well, if you keep going south—."
Min Young-ji, befitting a pathfinder trait holder, explained it simply and in enough detail that even the directionally challenged Cheon Seo-yoon could understand.
"Ah, so that's why......."
That's why I smelled dried pollack soup.
It wasn't far from where she had camped on the first night.
Cheon Seo-yoon, who had been nodding, soon smiled meaningfully and made up her mind.
Tonight's dinner spot would be exactly there.
Then she could experience the miracle of the dried pollack soup calorie bar once more.
Not only that, she would be able to spend the night safer from Monster attacks.
With a presence like a professor's, even Monsters would flee in terror.
"Heh heh, thanks for the info. Let's part ways soon."
After a brief hesitation, Cheon Seo-yoon took out one calorie bar.
She herself could hunt or scrounge or do something, but Min Young-ji didn't seem like she could.
"Take this. I'm going."
Cheon Seo-yoon practically threw it at Min Young-ji so she couldn't refuse, then ran off.
* * *
After parting from Min Young-ji, Cheon Seo-yoon set her next destination as Professor Lee Taek-jin's luxury barracks, the command control room.
She headed south in the direction Min Young-ji had indicated, crossing a forest thick with conifers and a ravine.
About two hours like that.
When she had descended until the western sky was dyed with sunset, she really did come upon it.
"Wow......."
But seeing it in person, the exterior was so splendid that calling it a mere barracks felt almost insulting.
The camouflage technique that matched the surrounding environment, and the overwhelming size too, made it look like some rich person's villa.
"Professors sure have it good."
Envy at the difference in their circumstances rose from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, but Cheon Seo-yoon shook it off with effort and watched the barracks with quiet anticipation.
Dinner time was almost here.
Before long, the door opened.
A tall silhouette walked out and stretched.
Then it carried out a large drum barrel, and what do you know.
It started a fire and began grilling meat.
"What the......."
It was such an open, blatant barbecue that she was momentarily dumbfounded.
Was Professor Lee Taek-jin wearing a tracksuit?
Looking closer, the feeling was quite different.
The person was tall, yes, but the build was slimmer, and the face itself looked quite young.
Who the hell is that.
Cheon Seo-yoon unconsciously advanced toward the barracks little by little.
But the closer she got, the clearer the features became.
The prominent nose bridge and sharp jawline.......
That smug face looked a lot like someone she knew.
In the end, Cheon Seo-yoon couldn't hold back and shouted.
"Hey, you. Wh-what the......."
At that, the man grilling meat at Mount Geumgang—Park Ha-yul—turned his head at an angle and looked her way.
"What. It's you."
"What do you mean, 'It's you'? More importantly, what the hell is with this barracks and the meat? Wait, don't tell me you're here together?"
Cheon Seo-yoon hastily clapped a hand over her mouth and gestured toward the barracks.
If Park Ha-yul was just the errand boy and the real owner was inside, then it would all make sense.
But Park Ha-yul just snorted.
"Together with who? I prepared all of this. It's mine."
"What? No, how?"
"The professor gave a hint. The keyword was survival."
"With just that one word?"
Cheon Seo-yoon's mouth fell open.
And no wonder—she couldn't believe there was a lunatic who had prepared this much with just one word, and in less than a day after it was mentioned.
"That's insane."
"Don't believe it if you don't want to."
Park Ha-yul answered flatly and picked up a piece of meat with the tongs.
Hoo hoo—
He blew on it to cool it, then popped it into his mouth.
Slurp, chew chew—
He hadn't even chewed a few times before he smiled contentedly.
Maybe because the sight was so shocking?
"Ahb......."
Cheon Seo-yoon stared blankly, having even forgotten that she was gaping like an idiot.
Then Park Ha-yul picked up a piece of lettuce, shook off the water, and asked as if doing her a favor.
"Looks like you've had a rough few days. Want some?"
"Huh? Yeah. Ah, no, I mean, why would I have it rough? I've been eating well and living well."
Nod nod, shake shake.
Cheon Seo-yoon's head couldn't settle and shook this way and that.
She put on a tough act because it was annoying that he asked something so obvious, but her instincts said otherwise.
The last shred of pride she had forcibly held onto crumbled with Park Ha-yul's next words.
"If you haven't eaten yet, eat with me. It's a bit much for one person."
"R-really?"
"It'd be a waste to throw it away."
"That's true."
Of course it was.
In the end, Cheon Seo-yoon approached the drum barrel as if she had no choice.
She stealthily picked up chopsticks and grabbed a well-cooked piece of meat.
She didn't know what kind of windfall this was, but she swallowed the saliva pooling in her mouth and opened wide—
"10 points."
"Ghk."
—but only for a moment; she put the meat back down and shouted.
"What, you punk?"
10 points?
......No, there's a limit to what you can ask for.
Even if she had to accept that it wasn't free, it was too expensive.
Considering that the points she'd earned from hunting hard all day today were 12 points, wasn't this the same as telling her to cough up everything?
"Punk? You've lost your mind. Don't want it, don't eat."
"W-wait."
But it wasn't that she would refuse. She just wanted a more reasonable price.
"...6 points. Let's make it 6 points."
"6 points?"
"I'm telling you, everything I got from busting my ass all day today is 12 points."
Cheon Seo-yoon looked at Park Ha-yul with a rather pitiful expression.
It was an unsightly and embarrassing thing, something she normally couldn't even attempt, but she did her best to elicit sympathy.
She used her big eyes as a weapon and gazed at him wistfully, and for no reason swept the hair by her ear back.
......But then.
"Hm?"
In that instant, a crack appeared in Park Ha-yul's usually impassive expression.
He hurriedly raised his gaze to the empty air. No, to somewhere around her crown.
He seemed bashful, unable to meet her eyes properly, fidgeting.
Huh?
And so Cheon Seo-yoon completely misunderstood.
She thought her beauty had shaken Park Ha-yul's heart and drawn out his sympathy.
As expected, looks were a competitive edge too.
Even if she was haggard and grimy right now, the original never lost its shine.
This guy, turns out he's a total pushover—
Cheon Seo-yoon, now brimming with confidence, pressed forward a little more aggressively.
"Mmm~ Let me lean on you a bit. I'll definitely pay you back when we get to Taehak. Okay?"
With an awkward nasal tone, she gave her shoulders a little sway~.
And this produced an astonishing result.
Who was Park Ha-yul, after all?
Wasn't he the type who wouldn't bleed a single drop even if you pricked him with a needle?
For the first time, a flustered note leaked from his mouth.
"......Well, sure."
* * *
About three minutes earlier.
"I'm telling you, everything I got from busting my ass all day today is 12 points."
It must have been around when my irritation was rising at Cheon Seo-yoon's absurd deal and strange gestures.
My vision shook and messages poured down.
[Main Quest #7]
[Objective: Arrange a meeting between Joo A-rin and the Mountain Lord.]
[Reward: 25 days added to Remaining Time, 40 SP provided]
[Side Quest #7-1]
[Objective: Support Reina, who is facing elimination risk.]
[Reward: 5 days added to Remaining Time, 10 SP provided]
[Change]
-The group obstructing the meeting between Joo A-rin and the Mountain Lord. Determined that the 'Strange Ones' are too weak. Grade increased.]
Hmm.
I calmly looked at the tower of messages stacked atop Cheon Seo-yoon's crown as if it were a foundation stone.
First, the Mountain Lord.
For Joo A-rin's growth, he was the master of Mount Geumgang whom she naturally had to meet.
The side quest and the change were also things I had guessed to some extent, so I wasn't flustered.
Therefore, I quickly got a sense of how to handle it.......
"Mmm~ Let me lean on you a bit. I'll definitely pay you back when we get to Taehak. Okay?"
But what did this girl eat wrong?
No, wait—was she sick because she hadn't eaten anything?
Anyway, the way she was twisting her body all cutesy, unlike usual, and the way she was looking up at me for some reason were both seriously uncomfortable.
"Well, sure."
So I accepted for now.
Earning a few more points wouldn't mean much.
And Cheon Seo-yoon's value had changed greatly before and after the messages appeared.
[Change]
I had just been needing a sturdy horse to face the Strange Ones that had grown stronger than in the original, and there she was, right on cue.
And she had come on her own two feet and was standing by with the messages perched above her head, wasn't she?
"Really? Then I'm eating."
"Yeah. Eat a lot. You need to eat a lot if you're going to use your strength."
"Strength?"
"No, nothing."
I pushed all the fully cooked meat in front of Cheon Seo-yoon and checked my Live Watch.
I had been about to check whether something had happened to Reina.
Sure enough.
Hyena-like bastards were swarming around her.
Nothing would happen right away, but it seemed like time to start moving soon.
As soon as I made up my mind, I pointed at the remaining meat and said to Cheon Seo-yoon.
"Sorry, but I think I need to go somewhere. Instead, you eat all of this."